Refugees Brave the Cold for Fellowship in North Carolina

On Sabbath, Jan. 18, a group of Karen youth lead a song service during "Refugee Families Thanksgiving Worship," held at the Greensboro Seventh-day Adventist Church in North Carolina.
Photo provided by Terri Saelee

On Sabbath, Jan. 18, just three days after Greensboro, North Carolina, was buried under 6-8 inches of snow that cancelled flights and closed schools, at least 170 refugees from six language groups braved the winter conditions to gather at the Greensboro Seventh-day Adventist Church for what they called a "Refugee Families Thanksgiving Worship."

After a song service by the Karen (pronounced “Ka-REN”) youth and opening prayer by prolific cross-cultural church planter, Fabian Reid, the event opened with a colorful parade of nations. Language groups included Nepali-speaking refugees from Bhutan and their leader from Nepal; Burmese, Karen, and Karenni-speaking refugees from Myanmar; Montagnard refugees from Vietnam; and Kinyarwanda/Kirundi-speaking refugees from Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Each group shared a brief group history and special music. Guests participating in this third annual fellowship event included a local Karenni Baptist congregation.

Carolina Conference president Leslie Louis was the featured speaker for the event. The special worship was topped off by a musical selection by Louis and his wife, Carole.

“It was a tremendous blessing and inspiration to join with local leaders from the Baptist [denomination] and other faith persuasions," said Louis. "I was blessed to participate in this third annual fellowship ministry to refugees.”

Event organizer Jimmy Shwe, who serves as both pastor of the five Karen congregations in the conference and division-wide church planting consultant for the Karen language group, hopes to have 200 in attendance next year. “I [would like to] encourage other groups to do it for their language groups,” Shwe recommended. “It doesn't matter what religion. Just invite them, and eat with them, and pray with them. Build relationships with them.”

— Terri Saelee is coordinator of Adventist Refugee & Immigrant Ministries for the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Most Popular Stories

More News

This year’s Adventist Robotics Championship Tournament, on May 5, brought together the largest number of teams competing in its 15-year history. Adventist schools and homeschooled students from all across the North American Division (U.S. and Saipan) were represented through 37 teams.

Eight years ago two mothers in the Loma Linda area wanted their young children to learn the importance of giving to those in need. But age-related legal restrictions prevented their kids’ involvement with service organizations. In connection with the academy’s home and school association, Thomas and Hegstad launched Family Volunteer Night, an annual event that partners with local nonprofits to make a direct difference in the lives of thousands of homeless and low-income individuals, senior citizens, pediatric hospital patients, and other populations.

At 4 p.m. PDT/7 p.m. EDT on May 22, 2019, university students from across North America will attend the fourth “Is This Thing On?” (ITTO) live-streamed conversation during the annual Adventist Christian Fellowship Institute. Those gathered will have the opportunity to engage with Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders from the North American Division (NAD) during a 90-minute livestreamed conversation.

On Friday, May 17, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act (H.R. 5). The bill, if it were to become law, would extend protection to gay, lesbian and transgender individuals across a broad spectrum of U.S. civil rights laws. This would include employment, housing, public accommodation, and social services. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is concerned that this legislation would further erode the religious liberty of faith communities and their members. This bill makes no allowance for communities or individuals of faith who hold traditional views of marriage and gender.